Electric circuit control mounting



March 26, 1940. H, j- BLAKESLEE 2,195,075

ELECTRIC CIRCUIT CONTROL MOUNTING Filed April 14, 1938 -17 h 3 U i/// Patented Mar. 26, 1940 UNITED STATES ELECTRIC CIRCUIT CONTROL MOUNTING Henry J, Blakeslee, Marlboro, Conn., assignor to The States Company, Hartford, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application April 14, 1938, Serial No. 201,906

7 claims. (ci. zoo-50)y This invention relates to means for and manner of mounting electric switches, more particularly such switches as are arranged for 'testing electric meters, relays and kindred circuit con- 5 trolling and protective apparatus. Generally such switches are mounted on panel boards adjacent to the apparatus with which they are .to be associated, and are enclosed in closures which have covers that may be opened to permit access l to the switches, the closures being so designed and the switches so arranged that the switches cannot be Opened without opening the covers, and the covers cannot be closed unless the switches are closed.

16 The object of the present invention is to provide a co-operative arrangement of switching and enclosing elements which is more compact, will occupy less space on a panel board, and will conform more in design to the apparatus with 90 which they are to be associated than the arrangements in present use, and at the same time will have the desired safety features of theprior arrangements.

In attaining the present Object the lswitches 25 are mounted on a base, conforming to and detachably secured to which is a cylindrical cover, preferably of transparent material, the switches being so positioned that to open and close them the conducting blades are swungout and in trans- 30 versely with relation to the longitudinal axis of the cover, and the blades being so located and of such length that when the cover is removed and they are swung out they will extend to a greater distance than the diameter of the cover 35 and thus prevent the cover from being applied to and registered with the base until the blades are swung in and the circuits fully closed.

The embodiment of the invention is illustrated and described herein in a form designed to be 40 l associated with a multiple-pole poly-phase powermeter.

In the drawing Fig. 1 shows a front view of the device.

Fig. 2 is a view looking at one side of the same,

45 with the casing cut in section on the plane indi-` cated by dotted line 2-2 on Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a view looking up from the bottom with the casing cut in section on plane indicated by dotted line 3-3 on Fig. 1.

50 Fig. 4 is a transverse section on plane indicated by dotted line 4-4 on Fig. 3, with the cover removed.

The casing shown has a hollow base I, usually of cast metal, and a cylindrical cover 2, preferably of glass or other transparent material.

' Around an opening in the front of the base is an annular flange 3 and the open end of the cover has a similar flange 4 that is adapted to register with the base ilange and be .detachably secured thereto by a channel shaped clamping band 5. 5 There are openings B through thesde walls of the base, ordinarily at the top and bottom, for receiving conduit ends and for the passage of circuit wires. I v n In the embodiment illustrated there are two l0 switch blocks 'I of insulating material, mounted edgewise on the base back to back with'their fronts facing sidewise and Oppositely. The back of each block is attached to the outer end of the forwardly extending limb 8 of an angular brackl5 et, the inner limb 9 of which bracket 'is secured to the inside of the back of the base.

On the exposed face of each block area plu-r rality of switches. There may be any number of switches, depending upon the requirements of the instrument with which the devicefis to be associated. Each switch shown has an oscillatory conducting blade III that is pivoted between con- .ducting jaws II so that it may be swung into and out of conducting jaws I2. Each jaw II is connected with a conducting plate I3'to which the terminal of a circuit wire may be attached, and each jaw I2 is connected with a conducting plate I4 to which the terminal of a circuit wire may be attached. The switch blades are so located on the blocks that when turned for opening and closing the circuit they travel in front of the base transversely of the axis of the cylindrical cover.

The switch blocks are so positioned and the blades are of such length that the handles I5 35 at the lswinging ends of the blades, will be just within the Walls of the cover when the circuits are closed, but when the circuits are open the blade handles will extend beyond the periphery of the cover so that the cover cannot be set upon the base when a circuit is open.

With the construction described not only can the circuits not be opened with the cover sealed to the base or the cover not be applied if any circuit is Open, but a large number of switches can be stacked one in front Of the other on the blocks and thus occupy but a minimum space On the face of a panel board. The arrangement also permits the switches to be enclosed in casings which conform to the design of the meters commonly used at the present time.

The invention claimed is:

1. An electric control device comprising a base with an Opening in its front face, a cylindrical cover with an open end shaped and sized to reg- KK ister with said opening in the base, means for detachably securing together the open ends of the base and cover, a switch block mounted edgewise within said cover and secured to said base, and a switch blade pivotally mounted on a side face of said block and arranged to be oscillated toward and from the side wall of the cover in a plane transversely with respect to the axis of said cover, said blade being of such length that when the switch is opened it will obstruct the application of the cylindrical cover to the base.

2. An electric control device comprising a base with an opening in its front face, a cylindrical cover with an open end shaped to register with said opening in the base, means for detachably securing the cover to the base over said opening in the base, a switch block mounted edgewise within said cover and secured to said base, and a switch blade pivotally mounted on a side face of said block and arranged to be oscillated in a plane transversely with respect to the axis of said cover for opening and closing a circuit, said blade being so positioned that when the circuit is closed it will extend wholly within the walls of the cover and when the circuit is open it will extend outward beyond and be engaged by the rim of the cover and prevent the application of the cover to the base.

3. An electric control device comprising a cyiindrical base with an open front end, a cylindrical cover with an open end shaped to register with the open end of the base, means for detachably securing together the open ends of the base and cover, a switch block mounted edgewise within said cover and secured to said base, and a switch blade pivotally mounted on a side face of said block and arranged to be oscillated in a plane transversely with respect to the axis of said cover, said blade being of such length that when swung outward it will be engaged by the rim of the cover and prevent the cover from registering with the base.

4. An electric control device comprising a base with an open front end, a cylindrical cover with an open end shaped to register with the open end of the base, means for detachably securing together the open ends of the base and cover, a pair of switch blocks located back to back within said cover and secured edgewise to said base, and a plurality of switch blades pivotally mounted on the outer side iaces of said blocks and arranged to be oscillated in planes transversely With respect to the axis of said base and cover, said blades in one position being within the cover and in another position extending beyond the periphery of the cover and obstructing the application of the cover to the base.

5. An electric control device comprising a base with an opening in its front face, a cylindrical cover with an open end shaped to register with the opening in the base, means for detachably securing together the open ends of the base and cover, insulating means Within said cover and secured to said base, and a plurality of switch blades pivotally mounted on opposite outer faces of said insulating means and arranged to be oscillated in planes transversely with respect to the axis of said cover, said blades being of such length that in one position they lie within the cover and in another position extend outward to a greater distance than the rim of the cover and prevent its application to the base.

6. An electric control device comprising a cylindrical base with an opening in its front face, a cylindrical cover with an open end shaped to register with the open end of the base, means for detachably securing together the open ends of the base and cover, insulating means provided with conducting means for the attachment of circuit terminals, located within said cover and secured to said base, andswitching means pivotally mounted on outer side faces of said insulating means and arranged to be oscillated transversely with respect to the axis of said base and cover for connecting and disconnecting said terminal attachment means, said switching means when connecting said terminal attachment means lying Wholly within the walls of the cover, and when disconnecting said terminal attachment means extending outward beyond the periphery of the cover and preventing its application to the base.

7. An electric control device comprising a base, a cylindrical cover applied to the base, and circuit switching means mounted on the base Within said cover and positioned to be oscillated in planes transverse with respect to the axis of said cover whereby the cover is applied to the base by a movement perpendicular to the planes of oscillation of the switching means, said switching means when closed lying wholly within said cover and when opened preventing the application o! the cover to the base.

HENRY J. BLAKESLEE. 

